My son is 3 1/2 years old and is ripping it up on his balance bike that he got for Christmas last year. Our plan is to get him a bike with pedals for Christmas this year, but I am totally clueless what to go with. He is 39 inches tall and 40 lbs, which is a good sized 3 year old. Judging by how fast he's growing, I don't want to spend much more than $200 on his first pedal bike because he will probably out grow it in a year.

I would appreciate any advice on what kids bikes to look at in his size since I know nothing about what is available for kids. He's riding it on the street and some of the tame local mtb trails.

Thanks for the help!

11-24-2012

callyer

I have had pretty good luck with the specialized hotrock, it's pretty light, and after putting in some thorn resistant tubes, pretty bullet proof..... At 240 lbs I have taken it on more than 1 successful "test" rides! It has been 4 of my kid's first 2 wheeler with great success.

11-25-2012

HighFlyingMama

Quote:

Originally Posted by callyer

I have had pretty good luck with the specialized hotrock, it's pretty light, and after putting in some thorn resistant tubes, pretty bullet proof..... At 240 lbs I have taken it on more than 1 successful "test" rides! It has been 4 of my kid's first 2 wheeler with great success.

Yep!! We did the same thing! Well, almost.

Our son was 3.5 yrs old and the same height as your boy when we decided to get a pedal bike.

I picked up a 12" Huffy that was in deplorable condition at a flea market for $5. Because it was on the small side, it was VERY easy for him to master the pedal bike in a jiffy. (I got him an ancient tricycle at the flea market a few weeks prior so he could master pedaling, so he learned to ride that Huffy in about 5 minutes.) He had it for a week, maybe two, until he was super confident and tearing it up as much as his balance bike.

Then, we bought him a new 16" Specialized Hotrock. He will be 8 next month and still rides the Hotrock every day. He has race bikes galore, but a year ago we added pegs to the Hotrock and it's his kick-around, jump all the ramps, beat it up with tricks and it keeps on going bike. It was worth EVERY penny.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K6z3R9dgg9I

11-27-2012

goldenaustin

+1 for the 16" Hotrock. Had a tear in my eye when I had to let them go. Now my son is on a 20" geared Hotrock (among a Redline and BMX street for xmas) while my princess of a daughter moved onto an Electra Cruiser (at least its still a SS, haha).

You can find plenty of used 16" hotrocks on CL or even eBay for under $100. Personally, I'd even pay over $100 if they're a newer model used. What's great about them, is as long as they're not too beat up, you'll get most if not all your money back when its time to resell, since parents are always on the look out.